Judge advises against new trial for death-row inmate

Statement was unlikely to have influenced Graves jury, he says

By Harvey Rice |
November 10, 2004

A federal magistrate judge has recommended that death-row inmate Anthony Graves be denied a new trial because evidence withheld by prosecutors would not have swayed a jury to acquit.

During the 1994 trial, prosecutors withheld from his attorneys a statement exonerating Graves, but the statement was unlikely to have changed the verdict, U.S. Magistrate John Froeschner said in a 20-page opinion issued Monday.

Graves was sentenced to death and Robert Carter executed for the 1992 slaying of six family members, including four children, in Somerville.

Froeschner's recommendation will be forwarded to U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent in Galveston for a final decision.

"I'm just shocked, just shocked," said Roy Greenwood, one of Graves' appellate attorneys.

He said he had not spoken with Graves about the recommendation.

Greenwood said he filed a motion Tuesday asking Kent for a copy of the record from Froeschner's court and for 30 to 45 days to file a response.

If Kent denies a new trial, Greenwood plans to appeal to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court.

Charles Sebesta, the former district attorney for Washington and Burleson counties who prosecuted Graves, declined to comment on the opinion until he had a chance to read it.

"I'm comfortable with what we did during the trial and I'm sure the court will take note of everything," Sebesta said.

Froeschner conducted a two-day hearing and pored over trial and appeal records before making his decision.

The judge did not consider evidence unearthed during a two-year investigation by the Texas Innocence Network.